Using Manual Focus
Digital Photography Help

Using manual focus can be the best choice in some instances when you're taking pictures. These digital photography tips will help you figure out when you should turn off auto and switch your camera to manual mode.

Most of the time it is appropriate to use autofocus when your taking pictures. Don't let anyone convince you that in order to take your photography more seriously you have to use manual focus all the time. Most photographers use an autofocus mode 90 percent of the time.

There are situations when using manual focus is necessary though. Here are some times when you might want to consider switching your camera to manual.

Macro Photography

Macro is close-up photography of small objects. To find out more about what macro photography is check out this article.

Many people like to take macro shots of flowers or insects. In these situations using manual focus is important because this type of photography requires the finer details of the object to be in focus. The autofocus mode on your camera can't focus to the detail that your picture will require.

In these situations, wind can also cause your subject to move out of focus or make it difficult to find the focus making your autofocus constantly readjust. That's another reason to use manual focus in the macro situation.

Action

When you're taking pictures of objects in motion you can use your camera's continuous autofocus mode, but sometimes that's still not sufficient. Sometimes the mechanism in the camera still can't keep up with the motion. If that's the case switch over to manual focus.

Taking Pictures Through Things

When you're taking pictures through glass or fences the autofocus will often focus on the glass or fence and not the subject of the picture. Switch to manual to get the picture you want.

Portraits

When you take pictures of people the eyes need to be the focal point. The problem with autofocus in this situation is that most times your camera will focus on the nose and the eyes will be less in focus. To avoid this switch your camera to manual focus and focus on the eyes.

Low Light

Some cameras really struggle to focus in low light situations. If you find your camera constantly hunting to focus on something switch to manual.

Fine Tuning

You can use auto and manual focus at the same time. Simply let your camera focus on your subject then switch to manual focus to do some fine tuning.

I hope this advice has provided you with the digital photography help you need while using manual focus. If you're interested in any more digital photography help check out my digital photography tutorials.